Big second quarter sends Raiders to opening night win

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By RYAN STONEBRAKER

STUART, Iowa — The Raider football team opened the 2026 season with a big road win with a 48-6 victory at West Central Valley last Friday in Stuart.
Mount Ayr led only 14-6 after the first quarter, but used a 26-point second quarter to take control of the football game known as Week 0. The Raiders travel to Shenandoah on Friday night to play their week 1 game.
Mount Ayr led just 14-6 after the first quarter before scoring 26 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a 40-6 halftime lead.  The Raiders recovered a pair of fumbles as part of forcing four turnovers on night in the second quarter.
Drayden Thompson rushed for three touchdown scores in the first half and he also threw a 35-yard scoring pass. Dyson Thompson, Adler Reed and Weston Adams also had scoring runs in the game.
Mount Ayr graduated quarterback Jackson Ruggles from last years team, and this year Drayden Thompson was elevated to the QB1 spot. Thompson stepped in with a good game as he passed for 79 yards on 2-of-3 completions with a touchdown pass. He also rushed seven times for 95 yards and three touchdowns with his longest of 47 yards.
The Mount Ayr offensive line came to play, helping the team amass 408 yards of total offense. The Raiders rushed 38 times as a team for 322 yards for an 8.5-yard per rush average.
Defensively, the Raiders had an interception by Adams and had a pair of fumble recoveries by Tate Larson and another by Isac Dugan.  Tackle leaders for Mount Ayr were Trace Knapp with nine, Drew Graham (seven) and Tate Larson and Logan Worthington with five tackles each.
Mount Ayr and Shenandoah meet Friday. The Mustangs have not played yet this season as they did not have a week 0 game.  Shenandoah has a new coach this year in Drew Buckholdt. Shenandoah was 3-6 in each of the past two seasons. The Raiders won the contest between the two schools last year 26-14.

Friday, August 21
At Stuart
1 2 3 4 Final
MA 14 26 0 8 48
WCV 6 0 0 0 6

Individual Statistics 
Rushing: MA – Adler Reed 11-76, Dyson Thompson 8-80, Drayden Thompson 7-95, Bryson Martin 5-55, Wynston Jones 2-6, Keaton Swank 202, Trace Knapp 1-7, Weston Adams 1-1, Nathan Roemer 1-0. WCV – Colton Lindsey 19-119, Garrett McAndrews 8-4, Tryce Dlouhy -29, Trace Vondra 5-36, Garrett Wolfe 3-14, Mason Fuller 1-5.
Passing: MA – Drayden Thompson 2-for-3 79 yards 1 TD, 0 INT’s; Adler Reed 1-for-1 7 yards 0 TD’s, 0 INT’s.  WCV – Colton Lindsey 5-for-14 75 yards 0 TD’s, 1 INT.
Receiving: MA – Tytan Gourley 1-44, Adler Reed 1-35, Isac Dugan 1-7.  WCV – Garrett Wolfe 4-46, Gage Derry 1-29.

Defensive Statistics
Tackles: MA – Trace Knapp 9, Drew Graham 7, Tate Larson 5, Logan Worthington 5, Drayden Thompson 4, Calvin Main 4, Isac Dugan 4, Manny Hyde 3, Dyson Thompson 3, Weston Adams 3, Keaton Swank 3, Gabe Larson 2, Wynston Jones 2, Austin Briner 2, Bryson Martin 1, Marcius Luna 1, Cordell Clemens 1.  WCV – Trace Dlouhy 12, Lucas McColloch 9, Kael Sawyers 6, Garrett McAndrews 4, Drew Teague 4. Jaxton Strawn, Kyle Guisinger, Trace Vondra 3, Garrett Wolfe 3, Mason Fuller 3. Ethan Balsmeier 2, Cooper Johnson 2, Judah Hammond 2, Logan Campbell 2, Ashton Wahlert 2, Hayden Foster. Daulton Corder 1, Jackson Gilbert 1, Marcos Clausen 1, Jonathan Strong 1, Cody Rodriguez 1, Colton Lindsey 1.
Tackles For Loss: MA – Nathan Roemer 1.5, Drew Graham 1, Logan Worthington 1, Weston Adams 0.5.  WCV – Tryce Dlouhy 2, Jaxton Strawn 1.
Sacks: MA – Logan Worthington 1. WCV – none.
Fumble Recoveries: MA – Tate Larson 2, Isac Dugan 1. WCV – none.
Interceptions: MA – Weston Adams 1-0 yards. WCV – none.

Kicking Statistics 
Kick-Off Returns: MA – Dyson Thompson 1-30, Adler Reed 1-25.  WCV – N/A.
Kick-Offs: MA – Drew Graham 7-350 yards, 1 touchback; Bryson Martin 1-37 yards. WCV – N/A.
PAT’s: MA – Drew Graham 2. WCV – N/A.
Punt Returns: MA – Adler Reed 2-38 yards. WCV – N/A.
Punts: MA – Isac Dugan 2-38 yards, 19.0-yard ave. WCV – N/A.
Two-Point Conversions: MA – Weston Adams 1, Dyson Thompson 1. WCV – N/A.